Handle grip



Patented July 4, 1950 Elver Lamkin and Joseph HSLaiiikimiChicagb,Ill.,.. assignors ,to., Lamkin Leather.;.Co1i1pany,

Chicago, 111., a corporation fIllin'ois Application March 9, 19 i'8, 4'

3 claims. (01. ave-s1) 1 V This invention relates in general to a gripfor golf clubs, rackets, and the like, and is more particularlydescribed as a modified surfacing of leather spirally wrapped around andsecured to a handle with the lateral edges forming butt joints.

An important object of the invention is to provide a firm grip with aninwardly turned groove at the butt joints and with pleasantly yieldingsurfaces between the joints affording an improved security of the manualengagement or holdon the grip. H Further objects of theinvent'ion aretorprovide butt edges turned. inwardly. so that they are not easilyturned. up. or; puckered by. con:

tinued use; an improved cushioning elfect is obtained between the buttedges.;.fand. aniimproved appearance of, the grip is provided Withoutsacrificin anything in themanner of applying a grip of this kind to ahandle.

Other objects of the invention will appearin the specification and willbe apparent from the accompanying drawings in hich,.

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a golf club handle to which the grip ofthis invention is ppl Fig. 2 is aperspective view showing a portion ofthe grip partially wrapped upon a handle;

Fig. 3 is a cross section of one margin of the strip showing how itisskived on the bottom be-- fore burnishing;

Fig. 4 is a cross section of a grip. as taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2as it is applied to a'handle; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view as takenon the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig, 6.15 an,en1ar ged fragmentary sectional view of a grip curvedandwiththe slitsopen as they would be in application of the grip to ahandle.

Most golf clubs fiaradutwardly at the top .BIld 40 of the shaft, asthistaperconiorms to the gripping of the hands in providing a proper andcomfortable grasp or hold of the club and also to avoid possibleslipping. This flaringat the top where the grip is started in winding ithas under tension and the edges are butted together 2 M as closely andneati as-p ssible. After the grip isstarted at the "top' of theshaft, alittle glue is brushed on at intervals as the strip is wound down theshaft, 1 I 1 The grip ispulled' and 'l'aid on'under tension ;in"order"totakeout"whateyerstretch' there may bein the 'l'iandlejfor if this is notdown, the

grip loosen in a short period of time. After the gripped' 'portion ofthe shaft is held on a flat surface and rolled with a heavy metalironerto'r'iiake sure theentire.leather'area is pressed tightly-against theunder listing. This is an insurance-that the entire leather. substanceconforms to the flaring and cylindrical shape of the-shafta'nd will not.pucker at any spot where tension maylhave'ibeen lost.

3 Referring now more particularly to the draw- '-ings','thelgrip isaxlong'strip 8 of leather of uni- 0 form width, .adapted .to be wrappedspirally abouttheshaft of a golf club tov forma handle, or aboutthehalndle portionsof rackets, and the like, I'to provide' a manually,engageable surface. The .:strip,- 8." is0riginally .cut With its sideedges, parallel and. at right. angles to, its top surface 'Ill anditsbottomisurfacel l2, the thickness of the leatherbeingsubsta'ntially.uniform. flfhe margins are, angularly skiyed to forma tapered edge I.4 ,'.at ,each 1.nder sideof the strip.

.The, ,skivedj and ,tapered. edges, are burnished subjectingthe.Qutermargin of,, the skiving to a searing heat ,whichjcauses the I topgrain v or, outer surface. L0 .ofsthe .le he ,.to. curl opp si y atthe'edge .lfitoward the bottom side and, down to thaplanao lthe g ttom sace 1. 1 While t -.app .ied.prim .att e e e, it is applied,.wihsdimiaishiris .efie t o. th b o su ce inwardlrifrom the d t s i sbycontractin the ls ve. ..and. taper d "p '4 down intq hapla e 2f. he sittm. su a q in elfect, the bevling is transposed into the curved 1r o'r...--...;l-24.- r.

is snags? iib .S R ih r ip y be id s. by pre sure-P t esn. amarq atel fm re lersap l ed. as wit .that risl i on. 2.; $9 2 35. e P1211311..surfiace bein smooth, but the roller engaging the bottom or undersurface having annular grooves which produce corresponding grooves [8extending lengthwise along the margins of the strip in the bottomsurface only. One purpose of these grooves is to serrate the edgesurface so that an adhesive applied thereto will attach the grip morefirmly along the margins.

Extending the full length of the strip are parallel transverse cuts orslits 20 which extend only partway through the material from the uppersurface thereof and which terminate before the tapered and rounded edgesof the grip so that cuts do not extend into or weaken the edge portions.These cuts are close together and uniform in depth and they provide ayielding portion between the curled edges of the grip,

In spirally wrapping the grips'upon the handles, they are subjected toconsiderable longitudinal tension. If the material has non-elastic softspots with low tensile strength, they may be permanently stretched outof shape which makes it difiicult to wrap the strips with "accurateabutment. The marginal burnishing of this invention overcomes thisobjection by the contractive eiiect of the burnishing and also by.lowing the butt joint, and the outer surface of the strip havingparallel transverse slits extendingonly partially through the strip andterminatl5- ing at a distance from the edge at each side of the strip.

the firming and hardening of the margins which deprives the soft spotsof their tendency to stretch by strengthening the margins.

When this grip'is applied and secured adhesively, it does not tend tocome loose at the margins because of the inwardly turned edges whichhave a bead-like roundness, tendingto make them slide over each otherinto proper abutting relation during the wrapping operation. The groovesformed by the curved edges 16 add materially to the engagement of aplayers hands upon the club with no sharp edges extending .upwardly orto irritate the hands. The-downwardly curled edges tend to form anoticeable hardness between the edges were it not for the provision ofthe cushioning cuts or slits extending throughout the entire gripexceptat the edges. These slits are not sufficiently deep or closetogether to provide tongues or portions of material which tend to becomeloose or disengaged from the grip, and the slits are not suflicientlywide so that they tend to afiord a space for the deflection of the slitportions, but because the slits are numerous and close together andspread apart more at the surface when wrapped about a, handle as shownin Fig. 6, they do provide a yielding and resilient effect which causesthe hands and fingers of a player to adhere closely thereto, giving himthe feeling th'at he has a firm graspv of the club so that it does tendto turn readily in the hand when a golf ball is engaged by the club.

With this construction, anew and improved grip is provided which doesnot differ objectionably in appearance from other conventional grips.The appearance of the surface resulting from transverse slits is likethe texture of a material and combined with the inwardly grooved edges.

The grip is actually pleasing and desirable in addition to the abovementioned quality of affording better manual contact and engagement.Whilethis grip has been particularly described as applied to a golfclub, the same advantages are obtained in applying the grip to playingrackets for various games. The construction may also be applied tohandles of implements or-forany other use where a manual grip isdesirable.

While the preferred construction has been described in some detail, itshould be regarded by way of illustration and example rather than a 2. Ahandle grip for golf clubs, rackets, and the like, comprising a strip ofleather wrapped spirally around the handle with lateral edges in buttjoint relation, the marginal edges being tapered'at the under sides andcurled inwardly at the outer surface to provide a spiral groovefollowing the butt joint and the outer surface of the strip havingparallel transverse slits extending only partially through the strip andterminating at distance from the edge at each side of the strip and thetransverse slits being opened more at the outer edges when applied tothe curved surface of a handle to provide a yielding andresilientgripping effect.

3. A handle grip for golf clubs, rackets, and the like, comprising astrip of leather wrapped spirally about the handle with lateral edges inbutt joint relation, the marginal edges being tapered at the under sidesand curled inwardly at the outer surface to provide a spiral groovefollowing the butt joint, the outer surface of the strip having paralleltransverse slits extending only partially through the strip andterminating at a distance from the edge at each side of the strip, andthe under surface of the strip having parallel longitudinal serratedgrooves at the edges only beyond the ends of the transverse slits toreceive an adhesive which will attach the grip more firmly along themargins when applied to a handle.

ELVER. B. LAMKIN.

JOSEPH H. LAMKIN.

REFERENCES CITED 'uNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 15, 1931

